twiztor

was there something going on in the news at that time that a man from Portugal (or maybe a different Portuguese speaking country?) would have any cultural cache? edit: nevermind, Elsalvaje answered my question before i even asked it. thanks!

oh shit, that's right. i guess i must have seen those early vignette after all. Probably just blending in my head due to the Undertaker 7/7 stuff.

Hassan was a SD! guy, so i didn't see most of his stuff. But i distinctly remember the discourse here being "this is an interesting take. he's playing a face and has legitimate gripes, but the fans will treat him as a heel solely based on his [character's] race. Wonder how long before Vince loses interest and he's just generic terrorist heel?"

this is me, exactly. WWE's overreliance on John Cena overcoming the odds EVERY FUCKING MONTH put the final nail in the coffin of my WWE fandom. I've probably only seen a dozen-ish shows since 2008. But really, it had been building for quite awhile. I discovered UFC was still a thing when they brought Ken Shamrock back (UFC 40, November 2002). My dissatisfaction with the Invasion angle -> nWo redebut -> name change/brand split -> HHH reign of terror just kept growing. I kept finding ways to hold on (Benoit/Eddie's title wins! WrestleMania 22 in Chicago! ECW One Night Stand!), but i was increasingly more interested in MMA (PRIDE NEVER DIE!) i still loved pro wrestling, and reverted to watching old shows every Monday so that i still got my fix (this is where i re/watched the entire Attitude era, and later ECW, and currently TNA). But current wrestling just left a sour taste in my mouth. All In was the answer. it was so different. so exciting. so FUN. i was never the biggest Punk fan, but i was definitely one of those in that original Rampage thread excited for the possibilities. It was a huge moment for this still-growing company. how it turned out sucks, not for me personally but for the whole state of the biz.

ok, i've never heard of this, but i NEED to watch. luckily it's available on YouTube. in answer to your question, the first thing that popped into my brain was the 1996 World Wrestling Peace Festival (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt412DmmoNU). Are you counting stuff like ECWA Super 8 tournaments? Brian Pillman memorial show? the Brian Hildebrand tribute show? i don't know that they're readily available online in 2025, but you used to be able to find this stuff fairly easily. Actually i'm not sure about the Mark Curtis show as i don't think i've seen that one.

this is a fantastic addition to the thread. i fully agree. piggybacking off that, i wonder how much WWE's isolationism has led directly to the toxic tribalism within the fanbase. WWE has presented itself as the gold standard of pro wrestling sports entertainment for decades now with no real challenger brand (LOLTNA). i know there was plenty of it before now, but it always seemed like there was an argument specific to why it existed (JCP is a workrate promotion, NWA is a heel champion territory, etc.). And while different companies definitely have a house style, it seems significantly more relaxed than you would see in the '80s, so i don't think it would be an explicitly talent issue. And of course the anonymous internet trolling plays a (lord) humongous part now too.

the first time with Bill/Keith, where one of them said something to the effect of, "i don't see any challengers in front of you" and MVP responded with "neither do i" was harsh but fantastic. Everything after that was overkill. Seriously not far off from the Rock/Billy Gunn "Bob" "but my name's Billy" "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS" promo that completely killed Mr. Ass's push. i remember thinking the exact same thing. stealing MJF's gimmick right in front of him.

this is fairly underwhelming for me. i guess i thought they were doing something larger than a single character crossover. that said, Grant Morrison has my attention. I'd like to see what they'd do teamed with Capullo tho.

i have a weird like for Rotunda in his post-nWo phase.

Thunder Rosa - Mi Mejor Escuela Mi Mejor Esculea ['My Best School'] (3:13) Yo Quiero Volar ['I Want to Fly'] (3:28) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuZDXawZkoE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjvsUp_pM6s Ring Introduction: Rosa released this mariachi single in May of 2023. The second song came out about one year later. Despite my non-efforts, I still can't speak Spanish, and therefore will not be able to pass judgment on her lyrical ability. The Match: “Mi Mejor Esculea” sounds good. Rosa seems to have good range, and she has surrounded herself with solid musicians. That being said, she doesn't do anything outstanding here. “Yo Quiero Volar” feels less traditional but still a full embracing of the mariachi spirit. It feels more from the heart as well, although again, I don't speak Spanish. I like this one slightly more. The Finish: Yeah, I don't know. It's fine. I know practically nothing about mariachi music so feel quite unqualified to judge. It's not bad, but not anything i'll be listening to again (I probably said that in 2023 when I first listened to this as well). I really dislike rating singles like this, since I have no basis. So let's go with a safe two ringbells out of three.

Austin Idol & the Idolators – Heart Throb (Wild Thing) / Austin Idol for President Heart Throb (Wild Thing) (3:26) Austin Idol for President (3:12) https://www.discogs.com/release/13271998-The-Idolators-Heart-Throb-Wild-Thing Ring Introduction: This was released in 1980. I'll be honest: I don't know anything about Austin Idol. I've heard his name, of course, but until he showed up in Billy Corgan's NWA a few years ago, I don't believe that I had ever seen him. So I don't have any expectations going into this listen. The Match: “Heart Throb” is a straight up swipe of the Troggs' Wild Thing. It works for that reason, and also for not needing Idol to adhere to such abstract concepts as “pitch” or “rhythm”. He runs down other stars of the era, such as Harley Race and Ric Flair. Honestly, this is a fun novelty song that I don't hate. “Austin Idol for President” reverts to a song that would have been more relevant in 1960 than 1980. It feels significantly less than Side A. They're definitely going for more of a James Brown vocal style, but it has crossed the line and ends up as a pale imitation rather than an earnest effort. The Finish: Overall, this is pretty much the definition of inoffensive. It's fine. Nothing to really get excited about, and if the novelty of ripping off Wild Thing doesn't do anything for you, there's nothing else here either. I'll be generous and grant it 2 ringbells out of 3.

direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f1PDPXCVz0 Live watchalong on the discord!

i don't believe D-Man was an Avenger. He assisted Cap on missions, and may have been on an Avengers mission or two (i don't remember specifically), but he was never on the roster. Again, at least thru 1996/Onslaught. i assume any later appearances he has are minor and inconsequential, but i've been wrong before.

she was only in the last year or two of Avengers comics (pre-Onslaught). i certainly wouldn't put her as the worst. Dr. Druid showed up, took over, and turned on the team. I'd certainly put him as worse. But she was fairly useless. it actually never got explained who she was or why Lilandra exiled her from the Shi'ar empire. it definitely feels implied that she is Deathbird's daughter, but it's not outright stated. At least not during my read. I have no idea if she appears again or if it all gets straightened out later.

i finished up on my Avengers read today. Since the beginning of the year, here's what i've read as part of this journey (at least 492 issues): Thoughts: People talk about '90s comics being terrible. When i 2024 finished, i was somewhere in 1991 and was still thoroughly enjoying the books. Even through '92 and '93, i didn't get the hate. But then i made it to 1994. Within about a year of published comics, EVERY Avenger had their costume radically redesigned, and EVERY one of them was for the worse. Every single one was awful. Some of them were generic as hell (U.S. Agent). Some of them were too busy (War Machine). Some of them involved armor being added (Captain America....although at least this one had a reasonable story involved). Most of the women didn't have costumes, really, just slips of clothing that barely covered them (Scarlet Witch). And then there's the Wasp (she mutates into a wasp-ish creature). Actually Iron Man's design came out fairly unchanged, although the man in the armor....well that leads us into the next issue. Characterizations go out the window. US Agent randomly goes from a hothead to the peacekeeper. Tony Stark turns evil (well, in his own book he is still the hero, even while he is literally attacking his team(s). It's never really explained how or why, just that Kang convinced him that it was for the good? It literally made zero sense. The storylines lose almost all sense of continuity (recently, a story featured a fairly major point of Hawkeye having a broken arm. By the next issue, it wasn't even mentioned. Or maybe that one issue of Avengers featured a memorial for a believed-dead Captain America, but when he showed up a few issues later, nobody even mentioned that he had been gone or that it was good to have him back). OK, enough ranting about the 90s comics. Overall, this was an awesome read. Mark Gruenwald's run on Captain America was fantastic. it was funny reading the letters pages and seeing people just whine and complain about this storyline or that character. So many people, early on, were saying that Gruenwald didn't understand the character or stuff like that. All the while, he's writing what has to be a definitive run of the character. The Avengers have had a pretty crazy inconsistent lineup over the years, and it was fun to experience it all linearly. Characters like the Swordsman, Dr. Druid, Gilgamesh, Deathcry, and the list goes on. I think most disappointing for me was the series the focused on Nick Fury and SHIELD. all of them felt like decent enough setups, but everything after Steranko's '70s run was underwhelming. Lots of rehashing the same ground (how many times can the world's premiere espionage organization be infiltrated and destroyed from within, being commissioned in the process? And only to be reinstated a couple years later with all of the same people at the helm (except for those who had already been traitors, of course. But that leaves a dwindling number of characters who could, in fact, turn traitor once all the "good ones" have been selected. the definition of 'diminishing returns') so what's next? i'll take a couple months off, reading non-Marvel comics. Hopefully knock out a couple actual books. But then i'll circle back and jump back into the Fantastic 4 & Inhumans.

so in honor of AEW featuring Ricochet vs. Mark Briscoe in a Stretcher Match this weekend, i post this question: What are the best stretcher matches in wrestling history?

update: i drove by the Popeye's on my way home from work. Their sign said the lobby was open 10am-10pm, with drive in 10am-12 midnight. there was 1 car in the drive thru, and 3 in the lot. i assume 2 were employees, but maybe the lobby was actually open? needless to say, i didn't stop.

the Popeye's in my town opened like 6(?) years ago. It shut down early this year. poor sales + health code violations. i think i only ate there once (i don't recall, but i'd imagine it was some limited time offering that drew me in). it was fine as far as fast food chicken goes. edit: apparently it is NOT closed for good. it just changed management. but good lord, i just read a few different reviews and the service sounds abysmal. It is ranked as the 19th best "quick bites" food option in town. Out of 19. and despite the fact that they have a full restaurant, they offer only drive-thru service. and the hours listed at the location are different than what's listed online. and neither of them matches their actual hours, per multiple reviews. i just tried calling. no response. it's 3pm.

of the bigger cities i've been to (which isn't a huge number but assumedly higher than your average joe), NYC had the best selection, and NOLA had the best quality. Houston is not among my visits, so they are unrated.

yeah, it definitely wasn't an earnest attempt at a good song. I think they were going for a more in-character feel, back when he was oblivious and didn't understand why he wasn't being cheered. This is along the same lines as the Jillian Hall record (although that one is WAY worse), in that i see what they were going for and i guess it makes sense for the character, but why would you actually expect your fans/customers to pay money for this?

i'm sorry Paul. I'm available if you need someone to talk to. "alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only disease you can get yelled at for having." thank you Mitch Hedberg

i applaud this person's time management skills to be able to be proficient at all of these things. [Obligatory: i don't condone the last one in particular]

not gonna lie, i would tune in to watch this match. but you 100% need the Bond theme to be playing over the PA.

Did i miss the announcement on how to watch this (if you're not in Arizona)?

they're fine. i mean, they're somewhat entertaining the first time. i haven't listened to this cd in well over 15 years, so most of the songs themselves, unless they were used as entrance themes, didn't retain space in my brain. But as soon as the album started and i heard the first Austin skit, they came right back to me. they did an OK job of breaking up the genres/sounds/vibes, but after the first one i found them largely groan worthy. But i absolutely would be down to hear Austin make a karaoke attempt.